Burbank weathers Glover first graders

Wednesday

Upon meeting the first-grade class at the Glover School in Marblehead Friday, longtime WBZ meteorologist Barry Burbank joked that he forgot to wear his yellow t-shirt. He was referring to the color of shirts being worn by the students that read "Class of 2029" on the back.

The youngsters were both educated and entertained as they listened to Burbank talk about his experiences working as a Boston-area TV weatherman since 1978. The presentation also included a video that featured Burbank and his current weather colleagues at WBZ. The film went over the various operational procedures at the station and what goes into forecasting the weather: the types of equipment used, such as satellites, computers and other methods.

"On average, I probably visit about 40 schools a year. I've done 60 but now it's closer to 40," said Burbank after concluding Friday's presentation. "It's always a great experience. The kids are so enthusiastic. They're in a learning mode and they're so inquisitive and curious about stuff. It's just so much fun to work with them. All the (age groups) are great."

First-grade teacher Carrie Killeen said Burbank's visit tied in appropriately with the subject matter for the grade level.

"Weather is in the first-grade curriculum, so it made perfect sense to have him come," she said. "He's such a veteran and he's been around for so long. He was able to touch on a lot of what we do in the classroom and expand upon it."

While talking to the kids, Burbank admitted that he favors winter weather "because it's just me, it's what I like. I don't like summer as much. Can you believe that? I really like the cold and snowy weather better."

Asked about why he became a weatherman, Burbank talked about living through major hurricanes Carol and Edna in 1954 when he was a child in Maine and the impact that had on his fascination with weather.

"I remember the storm was so loud and the rain was the hitting the house so hard," he recalled. "We ended up going to the basement because the storm was so powerful. My parents were afraid trees would come down on the house. A 100-foot pine tree did come down but it didn't hit our house luckily."

Burbank said from that point on his parents had a hard time getting him to stop looking out the window to check the sky.

"I was at the window the whole day after that storm, and kept going back to check for many days in a row. That's how it all started for me," he said.

Citing the Great New England Hurricane of 1938, considered one of most destructive storms ever to hit this region, Burbank said technology has been extremely beneficial in being able to forecast storms ahead of time. The same technology was not available 80 years ago.

"No one knew about it ahead of time, and (the region) wasn't prepared for it," he said. "It surprised everyone and it did a lot of damage. People lost their lives. Because of the technology we have now, we can forecast these things and be better prepared."

Burbank told the kids that he thinks New England is one of the best areas of the United States when it comes to climate.

"We have storms but not as bad as other parts of the country," he pointed out. "We have different seasons, so there's variety and so many things we can look forward to year round."

Burbank kidded with the kids early on that he could "fly like Superman, you'll see when we watch the video." Of course, after the video, he explained that he really cannot fly and described what effects were used in the film to make it appear he was airbound during one segment.

Among some of the neat facts in the video, students learned that the coldest temperature ever recorded in Boston is minus-18 degrees in 1934, the hottest is 104 degrees in 1911, and the most snow accumulation in one year is very recent - 110.6 inches in the winter of 2014-15.

Burbank ended his visit by taking a video of the class, which appeared on WBZ-TV's Monday newscast.